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Monday, February 20, 2012

Welcome Guest Author Caridad Pineiro! #Nocturne #Mummy #Curse

I'm going to try to avoid getting all fangirly *grins*, and just say...

I'm very excited to welcome fellow Harlequin Nocturne author

Caridad Pineiro

to the blog today to share her new dark paranormal erotic romance...

Take it away, Caridad...

My favorite stories have always been ones about redemption and the power of love. The hero in NOCTURNAL WHISPERS, Lord Alec, is definitely a man in need of redemption. He’s been cursed for centuries since he stole a mummy’s child to help pay off some gambling bets. Lord Alec was the spare heir and because of that, a little ignored and a little wild. It’s what made him a bit callous in his regard for others.

Until he’s cursed, and his brother dies, and Lord Alec finds himself shouldering immense burdens alone.

He’s incredibly lonely, but worse, he can’t find love until he makes up for the wrong that he’s done by returning the mummy child to its mother. But to do that, he may have to betray the woman with whom he is falling in love.

Here’s a little teaser for NOCTURNAL WHISPERS and an excerpt for you!

For over a century, Lord Alec Wright has been condemned to wander the Earth searching for a mummy he stole from an Egyptian tomb. Cursed to see all his loved ones die, he also must endure the spirit that tortures him with unrelenting arousal every night until he atones for his crime.

After years of searching, Alec has finally found what he seeks—but museum curator Kate Morton stands his way. The mummy’s spirit is affecting her as well, driving her wild with desire. It is the perfect opportunity for Alec to seduce Kate and obtain the artifact. But in his quest to end his torment, will Alec wind up losing his heart?

NOCTURNAL WHISPERS, Chapter 1:

She came to him as she always did, her exotic kohl-lined eyes dark as midnight, her full lips stained blood red as she taunted him. “You know what I want.”

Lord Alec Wright trembled with both fear and pleasure, well aware of his visitor’s desire. He tried to speak, but she covered his mouth with her cool, smooth hand, silencing him. The sweet, spicy perfume of myrrh, which had been rubbed into her skin when she'd been entombed centuries earlier, nearly overwhelmed him.

“No more empty promises,” she said, a sad smile slipping onto her lips, her eyes fathomless. She ran her free hand across the smooth lines of Alec’s chest, rousing the desire she used as punishment for his crimes.

Alec steeled himself against her touch, fighting the arousal she stirred so easily with her luscious beauty. Death had forever sealed her exquisiteness, and, with his selfishness, he had condemned them to be bound together until he fulfilled her one and only wish.

She snaked her hand downward until she reached the head of his erection. Encircling his engorged length with her palm, she stroked up and down, dragging a moan from him.

“Such strength.” She bent her head to kiss the side of his face, still covering his mouth with one hand while tempting him with the other. Her power kept him pinned to the mattress as she wrought her torture.

Alec murmured a protest and fought against the desire threatening to consume him, but she only laughed and tenderly bit the side of his neck before working her way down his body. Soon her lips were poised just above the head of his cock. The bittersweet smile turned wicked as she licked the tip of his foreskin and dragged a moan of pleasure from him. “You cannot resist, even though you know what will follow.”

No, he couldn’t resist her. He had never been able to resist the allure of his darkest needs. As the “spare heir,” he'd found his parents had cared little for what he did. No matter what, their attention had always been on his older brother. Alec's failure to earn their approval had led him to try ever more outrageous activities to snare their notice, even if his behavior resulted in disapproval. That self-destructive bent was what had brought him to this: a life of pleasure-pain spent searching for a way to satisfy a mummy’s desire.

She took him into her mouth then and moved on him, working him with her tongue and lips. Her full, generous breasts rubbed along his thighs, creating even greater need.

He wanted to touch and taste, to feel their lushness in his mouth, but he was caught in the web of her power and could not move, could not truly enjoy her. Because the passion with which she dominated him was her punishment for his misdeeds.

She aroused him even more, drawing out his need until he was shaking beneath her.

With a satisfied laugh, she left him poised on the edge and faced him, determination in eyes black as midnight.

“You know what I want.”

She finally released him from her dominion so that he could whisper a sibilant, “Yes."

Before his eyes, her skin lost its creamy olive hue and became pale as alabaster. A heartbeat later her striking features eroded as her skin became dust as dry as the Sahara. An unseen wind rose up, blowing away her features until she was a faceless entity above him.

She opened what was left of her mouth and keened with centuries-old pain. The sound ricocheted inside his skull, bringing distress so powerful that it pulled him from the nightmare.

Alec bolted up in bed, breathing heavily. His body was hard and aching from the desire she had awakened—a brutal desire he was cursed to endure, alone, until he fulfilled her one and only yearning: to reunite with her child.

In his head came her keening cry once more, reminding him of the loss she had suffered not once, but twice. First when her toddler had died of a fever, and then again when Alec had taken the child's preserved body from beside the woman's mummified remains.

Gritting his teeth against the agony of her wail, Alec rose from the bed and shuffled over to a table, his erection almost painful. He drew in a shaky breath, willing his desire to subside as her presence faded, leaving him with some semblance of peace.

Only when he found her child, the mummy he had traded for money to pay off some gambling debts, would he finally have true tranquility and an end to his lonely existence.

At the Formica-and-metal kitchen table that was nearly an antiquity itself, he shuffled various papers and notes. He preferred staying in older, out-of-the-way locations to avoid the paparazzi who were forever trying to hunt him down. This little walk-up had been the perfect place to conduct his investigations, he thought, reviewing his papers yet again and arriving at the same conclusion that he had weeks earlier, when he had begun his trek to New York City.

Her child was here, likely stored away in the New York Center for Antiquities’ basement like many other dusty pieces of history. Much like the mummy’s remains were now in a British museum, visible to one and all who wished to view the collection of ancient treasures spirited away from Egypt's sands.

So close, he thought, planning how he would get his hands on the tiny bundled child so he could return it to its mother.

Leaning a hand on the tabletop, Alec shifted more papers and unearthed the recent article he had printed from the internet. He stared at the picture of the lovely, dark-haired curator who had just come on board at the museum.

Dr. Kate Morton. Fresh-faced and full of a zeal that radiated even in the posed photograph.

No doubt one of her tasks as a new hire would be to familiarize herself with the museum’s collections and review the inventory in storage.

A perfect opportunity for him to use his skills to seduce the young curator and convince her to give him what the mummy desired.

Maybe then Alec would finally be free of the mummy’s curse. Maybe then he’d secure an end to a solitary life that had grown too tiresome to endure.

Caridad Piñeiro® is a multi-published and award-winning author whose love of the written word developed when her fifth grade teacher assigned a project – to write a book that would be placed in a class lending library. She has been hooked on writing ever since. From the start, Caridad’s novels have received acclaim and have helped redefine the landscape of modern romance novels. She has won numerous awards for her several dozen books and been featured on television programs and in newspaper articles. When not writing, Caridad teaches workshops on various topics related to writing and heads a writing group. Caridad is also an attorney, wife and mother.

Wow, loved the excerpt. This books sounds great and would love to win and read. Caridad is a new author for me and love to read and always looking for new books and authors to check out. Thanks for the chance to win.christinebails@yahoo.com

Thank you all for coming by! I really loved writing this story because I not only wanted Alec to have his happily-ever-after, but the villainess as well. I really felt for her because she lost her child due to Alec's wild ways.

I haven't read any of Caridad's books yet, though I've had Aztec Gold and The Calling series on my TBR pile for quite a while. I just haven't had a chance to get around to them yet. The excerpt for Nocturnal Whispers sounds really good. It reminds made me think of The Mummy trilogy movies which is a favorite of mine, only this one has a naughtier twist. Alec seems to have made a lot of selfish decisions in his life, one of which led to his current predicament. It sounds like he's about to make another mistake in trying to get what he wants by seducing Kate. I can't wait to see if he will have an epiphany of sorts. I've just added this to my Amazon wishlist. Thank you for the opportunity to win some cool stuff of yours.

I love THE MUMMY movies also, although I still haven't had a chance to see the last one. It was lots of fun to research the history and try to build real life things into the story, like the green make-up on the child's mummy!

Hi, there and thanks for coming by! NOCTURNAL WHISPERS is not part of a series. It is stand alone. THE CLAIMED is book 2 of the SIN HUNTER series. THE LOST was the first one and there are also familiar characters in SINS OF THE FLESH and STRONGER THAN SIN! Thanks again for all the kind words about my work.

@Caridad - The third installment was definitely different, not bad by any means but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two. I hope you'll get a chance to watch it soon though. Maybe all three in one sitting :)

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